One of the Tidy Towns Awards roving assessors is in town to cast a discerning eye over parts of Gunnedah.

Dennis De Kantzow quietly drove into town yesterday to check out the results of a Gunnedah Shire Council project to improve parts of the Namoi River - and educate the community in the process.

But, as the winter sunshine filtered down through the riverside gums and a lone pelican floated past, Mr De Kantzow explained the awards were about much more than litter.

“Tidy Towns has been around for a long time - more than 20 years,” he said.

“It provides stimulus to the community to get things done that might not otherwise be done.

“The mere professionalism in competing in Tidy Towns can result in full-on works and projects which together make towns visibly better.”

He said getting a town or project ready for a Tidy Towns assessment was like “getting ready before the in-laws visit”.

Mr De Kantzow said there were about 20 assessors across NSW and the assessment program was carefully organised so each one did not visit the same town twice.

He said his six  or seven years as an assessor had taken him to towns across the state, from Broken Hill to Gulargambone.

“I enjoy looking at country towns,” he said.

“I am very interested in sustainability - this means they must be nice places to live.”

He said a good way to judge a town was to look at what it had to offer new residents, such as a family.

Once assessors have visited a town, they send their reports back to a team of judges.

Mr De Kantzow yesterday inspected the Gunnedah Urban Riverine Sustainability Project.

Council’s development and planning manager Carolyn Hunt took the assessor on a tour of spots along the Namoi that have been targeted through the program.

Council has submitted an entry for the project in the Environmental Education Award, stating the project has included small pockets of work along the river.

Work has included bank stabilisation, removal of noxious weeds and rubbish, revegetation, vehicle access restriction and erosion control.

Council’s submission said the projects had been undertaken by community organisations and council, with “tremendous support from the local community, businesses and industry”.

“The project ... has highlighted the biodiversity values of the Namoi River within the town area of Gunnedah,” the submission says.

“Over the past five years, the project has gathered momentum and exposure, increasing its profile and therefore, the success of the project in improving biodiversity and habitat connectivity within the riverine environment.”

The awards are run through Keep NSW Beautiful, whose chief executive officer, David Imrie, wished Gunnedah luck in the judging process.

“Gunnedah Shire has a strong history of success in the competition,” Mr Imrie said.

“We’re proud of their achievements, and have our fingers crossed for Gunnedah in this year’s Tidy Towns Awards.”

Last year, Nundle won the overall award, giving the town of just 280 people the right to host the awards which take place in November.